CPK Helps Upper Merion Tricentennial

Last March 14, The Court at King of Prussia hosted a fund raiser for the Upper Merion Tricentennial celebration. Guests dined with fliers with 20% donations going toward Tricentennial coffers that happened between 11 in the morning to 9:30 in the evening.

“We can’t do the 20 percent without the flyer, because that’s how we keep track and tally it up at the end,” explained CPK manager Julie Tilley. “We’ll do these fundraisers for any nonprofit organization, and its success depends on how well the event is promoted. Certain groups will promote the fundraiser more than others and you can tell by the turnout. Typically it does provide some nice business for us.”

The more the guests supported the celebration of the township’s 300th birthday with food and drink on the said event, the bigger the benefit for the Tricentennial of course.

“If you sit down and get an appetizer, entrée and dessert, and if you add alcohol, that helps bring the total up higher that’s going to the event,” Tilley said. “The higher the check, the better for the charity.”

Between 5 to 7 pm, an open bar was launched for those celebrating Reesville Social Club.

“As part of the Upper Merion Tricentennial celebration, which is all year long, on the second Thursday of every month we host a social hour at a local restaurant or bar, partially because it’s a tribute to the birthplace of Upper Merion, which was around the King of Prussia Inn,” Kohler said. “We’ve held our meetings at Peppers, Screwballs and different establishments every month. It’s a nice way to get together and celebrate the history of Upper Merion, and we have many of our commemorative items for sale. The township and the chamber of commerce sprung up around the King of Prussia Inn, so we thought it would be nice to celebrate that part of our history like this. Back in Colonial days getting together at the local inn in the town square was common, so that gave us the inspiration to meet and have some laughs.”

A member of the Reesville Social Club, who is also a regular at California Pizza Kitchen was the one who suggested the fund raising activity.

“Some of the local businesses have been spreading the word, and we’re really excited about the fundraiser,” Kohler said. “We had our Tricentennial gala last month and are looking forward to our Community Day and parade in the fall and there are events all year long, which are all on our website (www.uppermerion300.org).”

Among the most popular Tricentennial memorabilia for sale are an Upper Merion-opoly game ($25), a Christmas tree ornament ($10) and wooden replicas of historic Upper Merion sites ($15).